Beading



Marich 4, 1947. w. c. FERGUSONr 2,416,798

BEADING Fled'Oct. 14, 1944 Patented Mar. 4, 1947 yi :ci

lREADING William C. Ferguson, St. Louis, Mo., assigner to The Presstite Engineering Company, St. Louis, `Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application October 14, 1944, Serial N0. 558,633

v 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to car body joints, and

with regard to certain more specific features to automotive and like body and fender joints includi-ng beading for packing and trimming.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of improved means between fenders or the like and adjacent body parts which will waterproof and trim the joint; the provision of beading 'of the class described Which will provide exterior trim adapted substantially to retain its proper color throughout the life of an automobilewithout substantial deterioration due to mechanical wear and tear or weathering; the provision of beading of the class described which Will freely adapt itself to fender and body curves withoutundue buckling; and the provision of beading of the class described which may be applied more easily and economically with a consequent reduction in cost. Other objects will be in part` obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, arrangements of parts,propor tions thereof, and features of composition, which will be exemplified infthe structures and products hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claim.

In the accompanying drawing, in which are illustrated several of various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical section through a rear fender of an automobile showing one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective View of a segment of the bead shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2 but showing an optional form of said bead;

Fig. 4 is a verticalsection similar to the section of Fig. 1, except that it is enlarged and shows the optional packing element;

.,Fig. v`5 is a vertical sectiontaken on line -5-5 of Fig. 4; Y

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a step in the production of said packing element of Fig. 4; and,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing another step in the production of said last-named element.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. Y

Automobile fenders and other body parts on various vehicles and the like are provided in "their joints with beading which is for the Vpurpose of rattle-proofing, moisture protection and trim. Heretofore this beading has been made up of a Webbed portion, for example, having been composed of multi-,ply paper, fabric and asphalt.

This was made up as a strip with suitable notchesv cui; from one edge for accommodating fender boltsy and the like. On the other edges was formed a bulbous selvage by bending fabric or the like over the edge of the web and sewing. In order to maintain the fabric loop in a bulged condition, it was formed over a Stringer.

ing was generally finished in imitation of the finish of the car. A disadvantage of this product was that the multi-ply fabric strip4 could notI tages are avoided and in addition the fender'or` like joint is much better Waterproofed.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown at numeral I a fragmentary por'- tion of an automobile body having a section 3 to which a fender 5 is attached. As fenders are made they carry an'inner iiange l. Bolts 9 are used for holding this flange to a channel strip H, or, sometimes the bolts will hold to thel adjacent body without the use of the channel strip.

The beading strip to be used is such as shown v in Fig. 2. This is constituted by a web'portion I3 formed integrally with a round edge bead I5. This is composed preferably of an extruded iiexible, plastic resin such as is, for example, known to the trade as Saran. Materials lof this type. include the Vinylites, polystyrene, ethy1 cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate bu' tyrate and others with suitable fillers. They may readily be extruded, thus making their construction economical. These materials may also readily be impregnated throughout with suitable coloring pigments to match the body nish. Thus 'later abrasions, wearing and rubbing as during polishing of a car will not obliterate the color. Thedots l2 indicate this dispersed coloring matter. In addition, these materials are iiexible, thus making it much easier to shape the beading The exterior -of the resulting bulbous selvage bead-I to the various curvatures required. They are also' tough and weather-resistant.

An exemplary notch I1` for accommodating av holding bolt 9 is shown in Fig. 2. Others are spaced at suitable intervals.

In Fig. 3 the web I3 is formed integrally with bulbous llet portion of the beading.

Figs 4 and 5 show at the top application to ani` automobile fender of the Fig. 3 form of the invention. Figs. 4 and 5 in additif;rrshow;-anotherjA element of the invention'which has for'its pur-1Y pose the complete prevention of moisture entry by protection on the lower edgeoffthe.V flange ,I.` This is accomplished by grooving the flange as` indicated at 2| and inserting a composite strip' member suchas illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. y This memberl-hastwo parts andinfFig. 6 is'rshown apreliminary stepinassemblingtheseparts. One

part is constituted vbyan initiallyA flat Yextruded, strip 23- composed of say25 by Weightof a-poly`v merized-saturatedhydrocarbon resin of 'high molecu-lanweight such as what is known 4to the trade a's-=-VistaneX.- This-is a polyeiso-butylene compound.- Ithasf physical I properties intermediatebetween-rubber and the non-elastic plastics. This-- substanceismixed with 75% `by-weight of ahighly blown'asphalt, such asrNo. 3 Korite Thefpercentageratioof Vistanex to asphalt may vary-l overrvwide; limits, dependingupon the degreelof tackiness desired foffthe: ultimateproduct.

Aaflata stripof the. stated,- Vistanex-asphalt product.; is:.lai df out.: as `illustrated ain Fig. Gand a soft-.packingestrand:or:llenZS is .laid on zit. This .v

llershouldfbesoft or.loose.l to give bulkto the bulbous,V portion inf which Vvit. w,ill ultimately,V ap-r pear:V

As indicated ingllig.V 7,- the,tacky stripv2'3ais turnedgup to envelop; the filler 12 5and theopposite v.

edfgnesare.l stucktogether as indicatedl l The inherent .rtackiness lofthe z-VistaneX-asphalt Com-v pound,v causes; the material, to; retain the shape Shwni ini-.Figr'l ,anditqfretain exteriorY tackiness also for; application. @adjacent Surfaces.

Applicatilolfl.y of thawaterproonestrp,1f-Fie. 7

isiquite.,V easy.r It isvreadilypattachedto vone or thefotherof the parts tobe. joinedand these may thenbebrought together` and fastened. The bolts Blaregthenldrawn up, and the resulting squeezing action assuresv lawell-packed .waterproof. inside v joint..l

A n advantage ,of the invention is ,thatfthfe tacky strip vkofFig.. 7 vis.particularly adaptedforappli cationtoinsidev jointssuch as associated Withthe grooyell. Theseare.diculttoreach for insertinof ,packing -evenr after onlypartial assembly. Thepacking orrig maybetacked.,eitherjo the body, 3,;or' the fender, flange before these arer brought together. Inthe case.v of thepackingof Figs.. 2 "and3, taclginess is lnot' 'desired' becauseu it is 'desirable toirisert thestrip.aftergapartia14as y' sembly of the fender with the body, which involves slipping the VWeb I3 into position and tucking the bulbous margin into fllleting position by means of the thumb or some working tool.

It is also to be noted that the one-piece or integral characteristic of the flange' I3 and bulbousv edgeyIZ (Figk 2), orthefiange I3 and the bulbous edge I9 (Fig. 3) g facilitates edgewise sliding application ofthe packingstrip Without the buckling that was heretofore encountered where the strip was constituted by an assembly.

In View of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other. advantageous -,results attained.

Asjmany changescould be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of theinventomitiis intended that all matter contained inthe above description or shown in the accompanying drawings ,shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim? Y A car bod-y joint zcomprising a first body-meme.-

ber,v av second body-member havingl a flange lsecured to said rst body'member with a pair 'off iiexible packing strips engaged therebetween, said ange having a longitudinal groove-therein-'adjacent a'margin facing said first body member;

each packing strip comprising a web lnaving'a,` bead only on one longitudinall edge thereof, one of-saidstrips having its web engagedbetween the rstbody member and thefinner portion of said flange with its bead disposed inethev corner at the juncture vof said'Y body members, the other stripvhaving its bead disposed in said groove and? its Web? engaged betweenv said rst body Amember-4 andthe portion of said flange between-the groove:` and the outermargin ofthe flange, said other packing'l strip being. tacky.

CJ FERGUSON."

nEFERENcEsyoITED The following references-'are of vrecordin the ille` of this patent:

UNITED. STATES PATENTS.

British Apr. -5, 19231 

